Crazy weather to continue through 2010
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The country will likely experience abnormally low temperatures and freezes this winter, warned a senior official with the China Meteorological Administration.
The country might face the La Nina in the second half of the year, which could cause abundant rainfall in autumn, and little rainfall and low temperatures in winter, Jiao Meiyan, deputy director of China Meteorological Administration (CMA), said on Sunday in an interview with Xinhua News Agency.
La Nina refers to a large pool of unusually cold water in the equatorial Pacific that develops every few years and influences global weather. It is the climatic opposite of El Nino, which is a warming of the Pacific.
Based on current monitoring, China this year faces a climate condition similar to 1998, Jiao said.
That summer, China experienced its worst-ever flooding, which killed 4,150.
China has been facing an unusual climate this year and has suffered constant natural disasters, especially after the flood season began, Jiao said.
So far this year, 14 rounds of torrential rain have hit the southern region of China and areas along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
In July, North China also suffered five rounds of rainstorms successively, according to the CMA.
On early Aug 8, devastating rain-triggered landslides hit Zhouqu county in Northwest China's Gansu province, killing at least 1,435 people and leaving 330 others missing, according to the latest statistics from the rescue headquarters.
The most immediate cause of the current unusual climate is abnormal atmospheric circulation, Jiao said.
Global warming also plays a role, which has caused more frequent extreme weather conditions.
Meanwhile, similar unusual climate events have also happened in some neighboring countries, such as severe flooding disasters triggered by torrential rains in Pakistan and forest fires in Russia due to rainfall shortages and droughts, she said.
China has made great improvements in the forecasting of natural disasters, such as droughts, typhoons and rainstorms, but predicting the exact amount of rainfall or the specific place that the disaster will happen is still quite difficult, Jiao said.
